Construction Management - Coursework Example

Construction Management Introduction: A project defined in simple terms is a temporary endeavour undertaken to achieve a particular aim (Heerkens, p15). A project is initiated and executed in most instances in response to a particular set of needs or as a solution to a set of problems. It is also temporary in nature and therefore has a specific start and a finish. It is unique and usually a one time undertaking. Project management on the other hand is the application of knowledge and skill, tools and techniques to project activities so that project requirements could be met. Executive Summary: Against this background, the following report will analyze the essential elements inherent in a construction project. To this effect, the report will explain the role of each of the parties involved in the construction project, and identify the specialist skills of each profession involved in the construction of the house. It will also outline the correct contractual procedures within construction projects, and application of the principles to the site of construction in our given scenario. Variables involved and Responsibilities: In order to identify the possible areas of concern as far as the success of the project are concerned, one would have to necessarily identify the various elements/variables that are involved in the project. The first team in the project is that building/construction crew. The architect is the second element. The owner of the house is the third element. The person or entity which owns the project. An owner may also be the general contractor for the project, provided it has experience to do so. The inexperienced owner should avoid assuming such a responsibility, but if it wishes to do so, however, it should consider employing a construction manager rather than a general contractor. The first most important person associated with the project is the architect. This is the person that has been given a license by the state to practice architecture. This might also be the structural engineer employed by the Owner to design the project and who will “monitor” the construction of the project in order to assure that construction is in accordance with the plans and specifications prepared by the Architect and approved by the Owner and Contractor. The inspecting architect on the other hand is usually hired privately or independently so that the development of the construction process is checked and verified. The idea in hiring this individual is to ensure that the progress takes place in confirmation with the laid out plans of the initial construction objectives and that the Contract Documents in order to permit construction loan payments to the contractor. The responsibility of this person is usually to the lender and not the owner so that the lender could be assured. The contractor is the second most important person as a member of the construction team. He is The person or entity who has been employed directly by the Owner to build or coordinate construction of the project in accordance with the plans, specifications and Contract Documents. The General or Prime Contractor has the overall responsibility of construction of the job as opposed to the Subcontractor. Duties of CONSTRUCTION MANAGER The person or entity that performs the planning, advisory and supervisory functions that would otherwise be divided among the Architect, Owner and General Contractor. Unlike the traditional General Contractor, is not "at risk" if it is an agency construction Manager. He does not pay the subcontractors from his own funds but acts as a conduit for payment by the Owner, and as such he is the agent of the Owner and can legally bind the owner to his acts. 1. The biggest challenge that would face the project manager in the above described scenario stems from the fact that the client has come up with certain last minute changes to the project. The client has decided that they would like to change the design of the forward facing dormer roof windows from the planned and accepted timber and tiled roof to one which is constructed entirely of glass. This would automatically mean that there would have to price adjustments and the fact that logistics of the construction would change as well. Role of project manager: In the context of the change in the demand for timber to glass, there would be adjustments made to the costs and costing that would have to be placed under consideration. A cost is defined by accountants as resources that are sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific target objective. Costing is the process by which the cost of doing or obtaining something is determined (Frigenti and Cominos, p298). Costing is one of the primary functions of the project manager- in this regard he is responsible for: 2. Monitoring the performance of the project against the budget 3. Controlling the expenditure and incomes of a project 4. Decision making in terms of cost, time, quality, scope and trade-offs 5. Serving as the basis for claims Steps to tackle disruption: The project manager’s function in the context of the mentioned disruptions would therefore be to ensure that the costing does not overreach its maximum limit and that the deadlines of the project are met despite the disruption issues. This would have to be worked in the three contexts of a constrction project management: 1. The process Context 2. The interpersonal context 3. The organizational context The process context would mean that the materials and the logistics costs would have to be audited and cleared by the owner and the contractor, the interpersonal contexts would mean that the working schedules of the workers and the specialists would have to be arranged so that the maximum work could be ensured in the minimum possible time. This would also entail a schedule being worked out for the work in various parts of the project site. This would mean that work of the scope management needs to worked out. This is where the techniques of risk management would need to be established. This is therefore an application of the principles of risk management. The high threat potential problems that have been identified and action is then taken on each of the high threat problems whether to reduce the probability that the problem would occur or to the effect on the project. Given the fact that the change to glass from timber has not been an accepted part of the project negotiations, it would the be the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that this change is discussed and approved of before the work of the same initiated or executed. The idea would therefore be to discuss the changes with the client and the architect so that the design plans are the least offensive and conforming as much as possible to the initial agreed design plans. The second thing to do would be to get the contactor on board and get the lending associations to come on board with the issue of change in material and the added costs of the change. An experienced lawyer/negotiator would have to be engaged to deal with the technical and the legal aspects of the negotiations so that the client does not have to be handicapped with the new negotiations are on. The negotiations are bound to take a toll on the schedule of the project. Schedules and Goals: Schedule changes could have much wider implications for project stakeholders than simply the need to increase the budget. Due to the complex dynamics of this particular project, it might be hard to estimate the costs of delay and disruption. An action taken to avoid the delay preemptively could very well backfire and result in it becoming a disruption itself. The project must not just minimize the cost of disruption management but also minimize a deviation from the original schedule as much as possible (Bard and Yu, p365). When solving the problem of recovery, a completely different schedule might emerge than the one that was obtained by resolving the problem with the original objectives of construction and remodeling. Channels of Communication The channels of communication would invariable have to be started by the client’s side itself given the fact that it is he who has digressed and made changes on the agreed negotiation points. This would also be beneficial given the fact that this would ensure that any prejudice or incorrect notion on the part of the other committee would be dealt with in the best structured manner leaving no room for misunderstandings, giving the client and the project team to place their case to the other party and make their position and justifications clear in a preemptive manner. Conclusion In conclusion therefore it may be stated that there are a number of issues that the project manager would have to deal with if the deadlines of the project have to be met and the added costs to be reduced to the lowest minimum possible variables. The best solution to the problems outlined is to ensure a structured approach and not an ad hoc solution the issue overall. Reference: Heerkens G, 2001, Project management, pub, McGraw Hill Publications, pp1-16 Bard J F and Yu G, Disruption management or resource constrained projects scheduling, pub, Journal of Operational Research Society, Vol.56, 2005 Role of Contrcution manager, accessed November 23, 2009, < http://files.ali-aba.org/thumbs/datastorage/skoobesruoc/source/CN001_021%20-%20Sklar%20-%20Overview%20of%20Architect%20and%20Construction%20Contracts_thumb.pdf> Frigenti E and Comninos D, The practice of project management: a guide to the business-focused approach, pub, Border Books, 2001 Read More